After allowing 526 yards to Auburn, the Tigers regained some of the mojo that made them the No. 1 defense in the SEC in fewest yards allowed. It was the third-lowest offensive output by the Tide this season.

"We came out and went against the best tandem of running backs you'll ever see in this day and era," LSU senior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard said. "To come out, and I'm not going to say handle them, but to contain them, and give our offense a chance to maintain the game was a big key. I think we did that. Hats off to all the guys who contributed."

LSU held the Alabama duo of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson to 125 yards rushing. Ingram had 97 yards on 21 carries, and Richardson, who was injured on a 1-yard touchdown pass reception, ran only six times for 28 yards. Alabama came in averaging 186 yards per game rushing but totaled 130.

"We talked about getting off the field, and we did a good job of that early, not allowing them to get a running game started," defensive coordinator John Chavis said. "They had a tendency to get people off-balance, put them on their heels. When they do that, they're talented enough to get after you.

"Our kids had a good understanding of what they were going to do offensively. It was a physical ballgame like we expected. Our kids hung in there and fought and did their part to make it a physical game."

Sheppard was responsible for both turnovers - an interception and a fumble recovery - each of which resulted in a field goal. The Tigers also had three sacks to increase their total to 25. Ryan Baker had 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks, sharing one with Sheppard, who had seven tackles.

LSU also contained receiver Julio Jones, who had 10 catches but never busted a big play. He had 89 yards after getting 221 on 12 catches two weeks ago against Tennessee. Jones spent much of the game battling LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson one-on-one.

"It was great," Peterson said. "I'm looking forward to doing it again. There's mutual respect. There wasn't any trash-talking in this game, believe it or not. He's a great competitor, I'm a great competitor. We both made plays today, but we got the 'W'."

INJURIES: LSU may come out of the game more beaten up than at any other time. Three starters -- safety Brandon Taylor, offensive tackle Alex Hurst and cornerback Morris Claiborne -- left and did not return.

Taylor injured his right ankle and had to be helped off the field, as did Hurst, both in the first quarter. Claiborne came out with a possible concussion in the second half.

Taylor was replaced by freshman Eric Reid, and Craig Loston also played there. Tyrann Mathieu filled in for Claiborne, and Greg Shaw subbed for Hurst.

T-Bob Hebert was not injured but was replaced in the first half by Josh Williford, who did not play in the previous three games.

FAKEROO: Place-kicker/punter Josh Jasper is racking up the rushing yardage. He ran his third fake of the season for a 29-yard gain on LSU's first possession of the second half. The drive ended in a missed field goal by Jasper.

Jasper had a 5-yard run on a fake field goal against Florida and an 11-yarder on a fake punt against McNeese State, giving him three carries for 45 yards.

Had Alabama been looking closer, it might have realized something was up. Jasper usually is LSU's pooch punter, and Derek Helton handles the long-range punts. But Jasper came in with the Tigers snapping from their 35-yard line.

"The idea is to get out there and line up quick and do it," Jasper said. "Plus, I'm not at 15 yards, I'm at 12 yards. So we were discussing whether they would sniff that out, too. I don't think they thought it was a fake, because I had been punting earlier in the game and throughout the season. They maybe didn't realize where the ball was. We got a lot more yards than we expected to get."